A team now, or an entity first
Building your own GCC and running a dedicated Outpost team both put a standing team in India that works only for you. They get you there very differently. One asks you to register an entity, lease space and run payroll in another country before any code is written. The other has a team on your roadmap in weeks. Here is the difference, drawn plainly, so you can tell which one your plan actually calls for.
The two paths, side by side
Neither is wrong. They suit different scales, and the wrong one is expensive.
Building your own GCC
A captive, or global capability centre: your own registered entity and office in India, the team on your own payroll. You own it outright and control everything. You also carry everything, from entity registration and leasing space to running payroll, HR and compliance in another country before the first engineer starts. The cost is fixed, and the entity exists whether the team is five or fifty.
A dedicated Outpost team
The same standing team in India, working only for you, on your roadmap, in your tools. We employ it as your employer of record, so the entity, the office and the payroll already exist. You start in weeks, pay one transparent monthly fee per seat, and scale with notice. Commitment without the overhead of a new entity, and your IP is assigned to you throughout.
Where the difference actually bites
Time to start. A captive is measured in quarters. You register an entity, lease and fit out an office, and stand up payroll, HR and compliance before anyone writes code. An Outpost team is measured in weeks, because all of that already exists. We hire against your brief and the team starts on your roadmap.
Cost and risk. A captive carries a fixed cost and the standing risk of a new legal entity in another country, which you hold whether the team grows as planned or not. Outpost is per seat: you start small, add roles as the work grows, and adjust with notice, with no entity to unwind if the plan changes.
Control and ownership. A captive gives you outright ownership and total control of the operation, which is the real reason to build one. Outpost gives you a dedicated team that behaves like your own, with retention, security and compliance as our responsibility, and one engagement lead accountable for it. Commitment without the overhead.
The crossover, and the honest middle path
The choice comes down to scale. Below a modest team size, running through an employer of record is almost always simpler and cheaper than registering and carrying your own entity, and the speed and low risk are worth far more than owning the paperwork. Above a larger team, with a long commitment, a captive starts to pay: it can win on cost per head and gives you outright ownership. The crossover is a matter of size and certainty, not preference.
That is why the two paths are not really rivals for most firms, and we will say so plainly. Build operate transfer is the bridge between them. You start with a dedicated Outpost team, prove it while it is small and the risk is low, and transfer it into your own entity once the scale justifies the overhead. You get the fast, low-risk start now and outright ownership later, without betting on the endpoint before the team exists. If you already know you want a captive at scale, that is the route we would point you to.
Common questions
What is a GCC, and how is it different from an Outpost team?
A GCC, or global capability centre, is a captive: your own registered entity and office in India, with the team on your own payroll. You own it outright and control everything, and you carry everything too, from entity registration to leasing space to running payroll, HR and compliance. A dedicated Outpost team gives you the same standing team in India without any of that, because we employ it as the employer of record and you direct the work.
How long does it take to start each one?
A captive GCC is measured in quarters. You register an entity, lease and fit out space, and stand up payroll, HR and compliance before a single engineer writes code. An Outpost team is measured in weeks, because the entity, the office and the employment already exist. We hire against your brief and the team starts on your roadmap.
When does building your own GCC start to pay off?
At scale. Below a modest team size, running through an employer of record is almost always simpler and cheaper than carrying your own entity. Above a larger team, with a long commitment, a captive can win on cost per head and gives you outright ownership. The crossover is a matter of size and certainty, not preference.
Can I start with Outpost and own the entity later?
Yes, and that is often the honest path. Build operate transfer lets you start with a dedicated Outpost team, prove it while it is small and the risk is low, and transfer it into your own entity once the scale justifies the overhead. You do not have to commit to a captive on day one to end up owning one.